While modern—also called “Certified”—woodstoves will not overheat a combustible floor, fire safety codes require installation of a non-combustible hearth pad under the woodstove which typically has to extend at least 450 mm in front of the loading door and 200 mm beyond the sides and the back of the woodstove to protect the floor from live embers that might fall from the woodstove while stoking the same or removing ashes therefrom. The hearth pad must be a continuous, non-combustible pad, which is typically made of floor tiles with grouting disposed on a concrete slab.
Unfortunately, provision of a concrete slab is difficult when a woodstove is to be installed on an existing floor, requiring either a portion of the floor to be removed or the slab to be placed on top of the floor raising the top surface of the hearth pad a substantial distance above the floor.
Another hearth pad comprises a tile backer board—for example, a DUROCK® cement board—with the tiles glued thereupon. A fitting plywood panel is glued to the bottom of the tile backer board to strengthen the same and the spaces between the tiles are filled with grout. The hearth pad is then placed onto the existing floor at the appropriate location before installation of the woodstove thereupon. As is evident, the top surface of the hearth pad is still a substantial distance above the floor.
To reduce the thickness of the hearth pad, the tile backer board is sometimes omitted and the tiles are directly glued onto the plywood panel. In order to provide sufficient strength, at least a ¾ inch plywood panel is employed. Therefore, the top surface of the hearth pad is still an undesirable distance above the floor.
Furthermore, the hearth pads are substantially rigid and, therefore, not capable of conforming to an un-even surface of the floor resulting in substantial gaps between the bottom surface of the hearth pad and the surface of the floor. Over time, the stresses due to the weight of a heavy woodstove placed thereupon cause cracks in the grout and the tiles.
It is desirable to provide a hearth pad that is sufficiently flexible to enable the same to approximately conform to an un-even surface of the floor.
It is also desirable to provide a hearth pad that has a low profile.
It is also desirable to provide a hearth pad that is light weight.